Page

December 23-29, 2021 24 Insurance commissioner Felix Lopez named to DeMolay Legion of Honor

LA County Insurance Commissioner Felix B. Lopez

CERRITOS -- Los Angeles County Insurance Commissioner Felix B. Lopez was conferred last Nov. 6 by DeMolay International the Legion of Honor award, which is the highest honor given by the international organization to its senior members.

The Supreme Council of the Order of DeMolay Republic of the Philippines bestowed the award to Lopez in recognition of his “outstanding service to humanity and remarkable leadership in your chosen fi eld of human endeavor. Including adult service to the Order of DeMolay.”

As a Legion of Honor awardee, Lopez was elevated to the rank and dignity of a Legionnaire of the Order. He also received the Legion of Honor Regalia, a cross medallion suspended from a red cordon.

The Order of DeMolay website said the Legion of Honor “was founded for the purpose of bringing together a select few out of the millions who have knelt at the altar of DeMolay. Legion of Honor recipients must have actively demonstrated outstanding leadership in some fi eld of endeavor, whether it be a civic, professional, fraternal or spiritual arena.

DeMolay is an international organization founded in 1919 and dedicated to preparing young men to lead successful, happy, and productive lives. Among its prominent alumni are Walt Disney, John Wayne, Walter Cronkite, football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton, legendary Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne, news anchor David Goodnow, and many others.

Lopez, who was appointed to the LA County Insurance Commission by Supervisor Janice Hahn in 2017, has been in the insurance industry since 1977. He is the owner-CEO of the Pinoy General Insurance Services, which he founded in 1993.

A magna cum laude graduate in Economics and a Master of Business Administration graduate of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Lopez was President of the Rotary Club of Cerritos

and Artesia in 2010-2011, where he received a Rotary International Citation as Outstanding Club President. He is also the Founding President of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce-South East Corridor (FACC-SEC) and Chairman of the Coalition of Associations at the South East Corridor (CASEC). Lopez was awarded the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Diversity Award in 2008, designated as an Honorary Commodore by the Philippine Coast Guard/ Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary in 2014, voted One of Ten Outstanding Entrepreneurs by the Pangasinan Brotherhood USA in 2010, and named Lion of the Year by the Los Angeles Bayanihan Lions Club in 1998. Lopez and his wife Sally have two sons, Felix Reginald and Richard Felix. Omicron variant spreads, 3,258 COVID cases, 7 deaths detected in LA County

By Jo Erlinda Maufi t

LOS ANGELS - As Omicron cases continue to spread in the Los Angeles County, the Department of Public Health disclosed that vaccines remain one of the most powerful protections against COVID-19 transmission, especially at skilled nursing facilities.

This as the Department of Public Health confi rmed 60 new Omicron cases, 3,258 new cases of COVID-19 and an additional 7 deaths. There are 743 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized.

For the week ending on December 17th, outbreaks rose in every sector, except skilled nursing facilities, the department said in a statement sent to Philippine News Today.

The department said outbreaks increased by 118% in the education sector, 83% in congregate/group housing, 13% in settings serving people experiencing homelessness, and 24% at worksites/places of worship. Over the same period, outbreaks at skilled nursing facilities decreased by 11%.

Although masking compliance and vaccination rates are high in most of the settings, most intensive work to ensure widespread booster administration occurred at skilled nursing facilities. Currently, 84% of eligible skilled nursing facility residents and 50% of eligible staff have received booster shots (90% of residents and 97% of staff are fully vaccinated).

“To everyone who has lost a friend or loved one to COVID-19, we send you our deepest condolences,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Evidence is mounting that for those vaccinated months ago, boosters are necessary to provide the best defense from infection with and transmission of the Omicron variant.”

“ Vaccinations also continue to provide excellent protection from the Delta variant. The widespread uptake of booster shots at skilled nursing facilities – a result of early eff orts to get booster doses to these highly-vulnerable individuals as soon as they became available -- have helped keep outbreaks at lower numbers in these settings,” Dr. Ferrer said.

“This aligns with other information gathered from around the country demonstrating the power of boosters, and the importance of getting boosted as soon as possible once eligible,” Ferrer continued. “Given the rising case numbers, the high rate of community transmission, and all the evidence that, over time, our immune systems need a boost to be able to attack the COVID virus, no one eligible should delay getting their booster dose.”

Newsom...

(From page 1)

Meanwhile, San Francisco Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency in the Tenderloin downtown district reeling from a severe spike in fatal drug overdoses driven mainly by fentanyl.

“We are in a crisis and we need to respond accordingly,” Breed said at a news conference. “Too many people are dying in this city, too many people are sprawled on our streets,” she said, referring to residents who have overdosed.

She said declaring a state of emergency would allow The City to cut through red tape and increase funding to police, who she said already had arrested 23 people during felony warrant sweeps.

Offi cial reports showed US drug overdose deaths surged to more than 100,000 this year for the fi rst time during the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated by a fl ood of fake online pills.

In San Francisco, drug overdoses have also risen sharply since the mid-2010s as highly potent synthetic opioid fentanyl infi ltrated the city.

A record 711 died from overdoses last year, with 2021 deaths projected to fall slightly below that.

In her declaration, Mayor Breed allows offi cials to quickly open shelters and mental health services by bypassing zoning, planning and contract procurement rules.

Governor Newsom announced the plan alongside Attorney General Rob Bonta, CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, CAL OES Director Mark Ghilarducci and other state and local leaders at the CHP’s Dublin Area Offi ce.

Under the Governor’s “Real Public Safety Plan,” new investments will bolster local law enforcement response, ensure prosecutors hold perpetrators accountable and get guns and drugs off our streets. “We’re doubling down on our public safety investments and partnerships with law enforcement offi cials up and down the state to ensure Californians and small businesses feel safe in their communities – a fundamental need we all share,” said Governor Newsom in a statement sent to Philippine News Today. “Through robust new investments and ongoing coordination with local agencies, this plan will bolster our prevention, deterrence and enforcement eff orts to aggressively curb crime, hold bad actors to account and protect Californians from the devastating gun violence epidemic.” While long-term crime trends in California are down in almost every category, states across America have seen a recent uptick in organized retail theft and other violent crimes, particularly those involving a fi rearm.

The Governor’s Real Public Safety Plan will support existing eff orts and new initiatives, including a permanent Smash and Grab Enforcement Unit led by CHP, funding for a statewide organized theft team in the Attorney General’s Offi ce to prosecute cross-jurisdictional theft-related crimes, the largest gun buyback program in the country and grants for local law enforcement, prosecutors, and small businesses victimized by retail theft.